Napped elastic fabric



H. c. MART lN 2,194,860

NAPPED ELASTIC FABRIC ori inal Filed Aug. 24, 1957 Patented Mar. 26, 1940 NAPPED ELASTIC FABRIC I Horace Chesterton Martin, Middlesb oro, Ky.

Application August 24, 1937, Serial No. 160,696 Renewed January 29, 1940 1 Claim. (01. 139-423 This'invention relates to a woven elastic article having a napped surface, and to the method of making the same.

As set out in my copending application Serial 5 No.'160,697, filed on'even date herewith, a napped woven article including elastic means can be employed in making gloves and like articles which have no lining, asthe napped surface satisfies the normal function of a lining for the wrist por- 10 tion of such an article and is devoid of certain defects which are inherent in the normally lined articles. The present application concerns a fabric which may be utilized in such articles, and to the method of making such a fabric, but it 15 will be understood that the fabric may be employed for other purposes than that describe specifically in my said application. I According to the present invention,. a wove fabric is provided with a pattern side and with 20 a napped side, and is prepared with elastic threads so that it may be stretched during employment. It is made by weaving complete plies of warp and weft threads for forming the outer and inner plies,with' elastic warp threads and preferably 95 with stufler warp threads laid between the plies, and with binder warp threads which pass from ply to ply for securing the same together and for holding the stuifer and elastic warps in place. Such a fabric is then subjected to a brushing operation for raising a nap on the exposed surface of the inner ply, and then is preferably dyed by a printing operation to provide a desired color on the napped surface, while the exposed surface of the outer or face ply is provided with 35 a desired pattern during the weaving operation itself. .It will be understood that the expression outer ply is used to designate a ply for providing a facing surface, and the expression inner ply is used to designate a ply upon which a 40 napped surface may be provided, regardless of the positioning or location of these plies in the final article produced.

An illustrative form of practicing the invention is shown on theaccompanying drawing, in which: 45 Fig.. 1 is a perspective view of a section of fabric as prepared.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view showing a section taken at a right angle to the warp threads, and indicating diagrammatically the relative position of warp and weft threads.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view indicating the weaving of the fabric.

Fig. 4 is a similar diagrammatic view indicating 55 the nap of the fabric.

Fig. 5 is a similar diagrammatic view indicating the printing of the fabric.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a piece of fabric F is-woven of uniform width and with selvages at its edge. When the article is to be employed for 6 making gloves or like articles, the loom is preferably so "set-up and arranged'that the width of the fabric corresponds to the width of material to be employed in making the glove.

.This fabricis comprised of the facing warp 10' threads In which are woven with the-facing weft threads H in the usual'way, these warp threads being taken from the spools l2 (Fig. 3) and passed through the eyes of the heddle frames I3 for such warp. threads while the weft threads are provided from a shuttle l4. Likewise, the inner ply of the fabric is provided by warp threads l5 joined by weft threads IS. The warp threads l5 may be taken, from the spools l1 and passed through'corresponding eyes in the heddle frames the tension, in bringing the fabric to its normal condition. Thus, the fabric may thereafter be extended for say 80% of its normal length, by

stretching. Since the weft threads are woven from a usual shuttle arrangement, the fabric has no stretch transversely and hence ma'intains its form in service.

In addition to the warp threads of the inner and outer. plies, ,and in addition to the stuffer and elastic warp threads, the fabric is also provided with binder warp threads 22 which may be 40 taken from spools in the rows I2; I! or 2|, and are passed through eyes of appropriate heddle frames I3 so that these bi'nderthreads are passed successively to receive weft threads as made. by the shuttles and I8 and thus operate to hold the plies together and tightly upon the elastic threads l9.

In the conventional diagram of Fig. 3, the heddle frames l3 are indicated as moved in proper order and relationship to one another by cams on the cam shaft 23, while the finished fabric is taken up on a receiving beam 24.

It will be noted that warp threads of various colors may be employed for forming the facing ply, and thus giving the desired pattern which extends along the length of the fabric, in this illustrative form, such a pattern being indicated by the shading lines in Fig. 1 at the upper surface of the fabric F.

The fabric thus produced is then delivered from a roll 30 (Fig. 4) over a guiding roller 3| which is mounted on a frame 32 opposite a rapidly revolving steel brush 33, so that this brush 33 encounters the threads of the inner ply and effects a napping thereof, without cutting through these threads and injuring the desired strength of the fabric. The napped fabric is then rewound upon a receiving roller 34. I

In Fig. 5, the fabric is delivered from a roller 35 (which may be the receiving roller 34 transferred for this operation) through guide members 36 and over a printing roll 37. In the illustrative form, the fabric is being printed in a solid color, that is, the same dyestufi is being employed from one edge of the fabric to the other, and throughout its length. This roller 3! may be of copper prepared for transferring a dyestuff to the napped surface of the fabric. A

revolving brush 38 receives the dyestuff froma fountain 39 and delivers it in the desired quantity to the surface of the printing roller 37. Above the printing roller is provided a counter-pressure roller '45! which is adjustably mounted in the frame 4| so that its pressure may be regulated by a screw device 52. The printed fabric is permitted to dry and is then ready for service.

In manufacturing the fabric, the thread counts and number of ends employed will be determined by the width, thickness and strength demanded. It has been found advantageous, in manufacturing a fabric of this nature for employment in the wrists of gloves, to make it about 2 inches wide, employing 140 thread ends for the facing warps ID for the body of the fabric, and using 12 ends of 40/2 thread at each edge for providing the selvage and visible portion at these edges. The back was formed of 74 ends of 12/2 thread. Nineteen elastic threads were inserted, and 18 ends of 16/2 stufier warp threads. The binder consists of 32 ends of 2=l/2 thread. This gives a strong fabric, in which the inner and outer plies are sufificiently strong to avoid the formation of wrinkles or puckers by the pull of the elastic threads, and to provide a sufficient body at the inner or back ply for the formation of a proper nap thereat.

Although the invention has been described with respect to a specific embodiment, it will be understood that neither the fabric nor the method of making the same is limited to such a specific embodiment, but may be modified in many ways within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

An elastic fabric comprising a face ply comprising warps and wefts and a back ply comprising warps and wefts said back ply being of fewer warp threads than said face ply, spaced binder warps connecting said plies together, stuifer warps and elastic warps enclosed between said plies, said stuiier warps and elastic warps alternating and each being separated from the other by one of the said binder warps, and said back ply being napped.

HORACE CHESTERTON MARTIN. 

